Alpine WEC Engine Future Confirmed As F1 Power Unit Project Remains Under Threat Of Closure

Saajan Jogia | Sep 24, 2024

Oct 22, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; BWT Alpine F1 driver Pierre Gasly (10) of Team France drives during the 2023 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Alpine's vice president of motorsport, Bruno Famin, has confirmed that Renault will continue to produce engines for its World Endurance Championship (WEC) cars, despite its 2026 Formula 1 engine program being under threat of closure.

Renault, the parent company of Alpine, is contemplating its future in Formula 1 as the premier class of motorsport prepares to enter a new era of regulations in 2026 when cars will be powered equally by an internal combustion engine and electric power. The Viry-Chatillon factory, which has been producing engines for Grand Prix racing since 1979, may either continue manufacturing engines for Alpine's 2026 F1 car or shut its F1 engine program entirely.

Despite the promising results of the 2026 engine, which is already under development at Viry, Renault's board is deciding whether to shut it down due to escalating costs and transition to a customer team by purchasing engines from Mercedes. Alternatively, it may choose to continue developing and building its own power units for the future. A decision is expected by September 30th.

However, the proposal to discontinue the F1 engine program has not been taken lightly by the dedicated staff involved at the factory, who are committed to maintaining Alpine's presence in Formula 1 as an engine supplier. In response, recent protests were organized by employees at the Italian Grand Prix and the factory to rally local support for their cause.

Regardless of what is decided about Alpine's 2026 F1 engine program, Famin confirmed that the factory at Viry would continue to develop and produce engines for Alpine's Hypercar team. He told the media:

"We are already using the facility for WEC engines. [In] 2025 we continue with the Formula 1 engine.

"We are using the facility, the people, the skills, the resources we have in Viry to support and develop the WEC programme for sure and we will continue [doing that in the future]."

The Alpine A424 is equipped with a significantly modified version of Mecachrome's 3.4-liter turbocharged V6 engine, which is also utilized in Formula 2. This engine works in conjunction with a standardized hybrid system shared among all LMDh vehicles, supplied collaboratively by Bosch, Xtrac, and Williams Advanced Engineering.

Famin emphasized that Alpine will enhance testing for its 2025 car to fully utilize its allocation, following limited testing of the A424 this season, which marked the brand's return to the Hypercar class. He added:

"The regulations limit the number of days you can test and the number of days depends if you are a manufacturer, but [also how many] customer [cars you have].

"Some competitors have quite a lot of customer cars and they are allowed to make more tests. They also have double programmes with IMSA and WEC.

"We go step by step and the goal for next year will be for sure to make the full use of all the quota in terms of the number of test days that we are gonna have."